Highlights 2018

The 2018 Brasil Spencer Stuart Board Index highlights governance trends and practices of 187 companies listed in the special segments [B3] of the Brazilian Stock Exchange.

Now in its fourth edition, the index focuses on board composition, including data on committees and corporate governance practices.

The average board size is 8.9.

All boards segregate the CEO and board chair functions.

65% of boards have vice presidents.

Boards included in the index had 18.2 meetings on average, which is among the highest of the countries we track. Boards averaged 10,7 special meetings per year, higher than the average number of ordinary meetings (7.5).

9.4% of directors are women, one of the lowest percentages in our international comparison. Excluding the alternate directors, the percentage drops to 6.6%.

46% of the companies in our index have at least one woman on the board.

The average age of directors is 55.

8.3% of directors are foreigners.

37% of all directors are considered independent, based on Brazilian regulatory requirements .

New directors (those who have been appointed in the past 12 months) represent 13% of all directors.

The most common committees in the last year were compensation and benefits/people, followed by audit.

The average compensation for directors has increased 29% in the last year, reaching R$39.724 this year.

Only 6.4% of the companies reported having external and independent assessments of their boards.

Highlights 2018

The 2018 Brasil Spencer Stuart Board Index highlights governance trends and practices of 187 companies listed in the special segments [B3] of the Brazilian Stock Exchange.

Now in its fourth edition, the index focuses on board composition, including data on committees and corporate governance practices.

The average board size is 8.9.

All boards segregate the CEO and board chair functions.

65% of boards have vice presidents.

Boards included in the index had 18.2 meetings on average, which is among the highest of the countries we track. Boards averaged 10,7 special meetings per year, higher than the average number of ordinary meetings (7.5).

9.4% of directors are women, one of the lowest percentages in our international comparison. Excluding the alternate directors, the percentage drops to 6.6%.

46% of the companies in our index have at least one woman on the board.

The average age of directors is 55.

8.3% of directors are foreigners.

37% of all directors are considered independent, based on Brazilian regulatory requirements .

New directors (those who have been appointed in the past 12 months) represent 13% of all directors.

The most common committees in the last year were compensation and benefits/people, followed by audit.

The average compensation for directors has increased 29% in the last year, reaching R$39.724 this year.

Only 6.4% of the companies reported having external and independent assessments of their boards.